Thursday, January 17, 2008

President Hillary

By Carl

Barack Obama just handed the nomination to Hillary:



I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times. I do think that for example the 1980 was different. I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.


When you diss the only Democrat to win the Presidency since Ronald Reagan, and you praise the Sith Master of the Neo-Con movement, you might as well pack up your campaign slogans and pray you'll be asked to be VP.

Barack, your fight isn't with President Clinton. Tell us how YOU will change the country, especially in light of how your legislative record is, to be polite, spotty and inconsistent. Picking on The Big Dog is only going to remind people that you might be too young to remember how the country was under Reagan. You are four years younger than I am, but I sure as hell remember.

How we ran up massive deficits. How the poor and disenfranchised became more so. How the rich became uberwealthy while the middle class began its grand descent down the marble staircase to permanent servitude.

How we flexed our military muscle all around the globe for no particularly good reason (c'mon, invade Grenada to save a dozen college students? Who we kidding?). How we cut and run in Beirut when the going got tough.

How the Christian Coalition rose from the ashes of the Reagan Administration to become the single biggest obstacle to sanity in this country.

And indeed, how Reagan himself grew the government exponentially (you could bother to do some research, Senator).

And then people will remember how only Bill Clinton saved them from a worse situation, and for that, was brutalized by the plutocracy that has become "America". And vote Hillary.

Shame on you, Barack, shame on you.

(crossposted to
Simply Left Behind)

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9 Comments:

  • "Barack, your fight isn't with President Clinton."

    Leaving everything Reagan aside (he wa an evil man), leaving all interpretations of Obama's comment aside, with Obama being slammed by Bill on a regular basis, I think Obama's fight is with President Clinton. And, it's Hillary's fault for making it so. An ex-president and Democratic leader should not be taking on the attack-dog role in a primary fight.

    By Blogger creature, at 11:07 AM  

  • We can only hope he has handed it to Clinton.

    That way, all of those screaming for her method of leadership will get exactly what they are asking for...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:37 AM  

  • Maybe, but is anything about that fight teaching us anything about any candidate's ability to solve the problems of a nation at war internally and externally and in recession?

    I see no wisdom in Obama's lack of memory and I don't respect his pandering to the Reagan worshippers.

    Why is a man who spend eight years in office not entitled to express his opinion of a candidate, even though he may have a dog (no pun intended) in this fight?

    By Blogger Capt. Fogg, at 11:38 AM  

  • Creature,

    If Obama is truly about making change going forward, and he attempts to paint himself as the agent of the future (OK, tortured imagery), then his fight is about showing what he will do, not nitpicking what someone else has done.

    My voice in this piece is political strategy, not whether I agree with Obama's viewpoints, altho I certainly have some issues with his praise of Reagan.

    By Blogger Carl, at 11:52 AM  

  • Carl, on the political strategy side, OK, I see that it's dumb for a Democrat to use Bill (and Ronnie) in this way--hell, over at SotD I readied myself for the shit-storm these statements would produce--however, I do think nitpicking at Bill carries over to nitpicking at Hillary and this plays well into his change message.

    By Blogger creature, at 12:20 PM  

  • A case can be made, I think, that Reagan was a more transformative president (for better or for worse) then Clinton. In this sense, a case can be made that Reagan was the greater and more influential figure. The problem is that, as has so often been the case during this campaign, Obama is feeding the GOP machine in his attacks on Hillary (or in promoting himself as a better choice). If Hillary wins, the Republicans will able to use Obama's ammunition against her. If Obama wins, the Clintonites may be less-than-enthusiastic about supporting him. Obama could have said that Reagan was a transformative president without dissing Bill. For someone who has a reputation as a great speaker and motivator, he sure spends a lot of time with his foot in his mouth.

    By Blogger Michael J.W. Stickings, at 1:36 PM  

  • Creature, I think your reaction is ill-advised.

    "Shame on you, Barack, shame on you."? Shame for what?

    It almost sounds like you took his comments to mean he loves Ronald Reagan and hates Bill Clinton...? This is not the case.

    For (better or for) worse, Reagan's candidacy was a movement. You don't like that, I don't like that, but I'm glad that we have a presidential candidate that can acknowledge it. He knows his cultural history and I appreciate that.

    Your comments remind me a bit of when John Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. To a segment of the population, it didn't matter that it was true. It was heretical.

    By Blogger Jamie, at 4:07 PM  

  • Jamie, I think you meant Carl.

    Carl, see above.

    By Blogger creature, at 7:16 PM  

  • Jamie,

    I think his infatuation with Reagan is disturbing.

    In 2003 he co-sponsored legislation creating "Ronald Reagan Day" in Illinois.

    I need say not a thing more.

    By Blogger Carl, at 3:31 PM  

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